Kickstarter project puts an Android game console in a two-inch stick

The $79 GameStick draws power and sends data through a TV's HDMI port.

The Ouya is no longer the only Android-based TV game console Kickstarter project out there. Today, the world met the GameStick, an extremely small, $79 wireless console built on top of Jelly Bean.

The GameStick might be the first ever completely wireless game console concept. The two-inch long device, shaped like a USB flash drive, plugs directly into a TV's HDMI port and uses that connection for both power and video and audio output. The console will work with any bluetooth controller that supports HID, including a prototype, pocket-sized dual-stick controller that can actually house the entire console when it's not in use (shown above). Players will also be able to use a wireless mouse and keyboard with the system, while a Wi-Fi connection will let players download games to 8GB of on-stick memory.

While the GameStick's Android-based architecture means it could technically be compatible with over 700,000 current Android games (and completely open to future developers), most of those titles are designed for touchscreen devices and wouldn't necessarily be an easy fit on a TV console. The GameStick developers say they've identified 200 Android games that will be "great to play on GameStick," and they say they're working with a network of developers to bring more to the device.

Working off of an Amlogic 8726-MX processor with just 1GB of RAM means the GameStick will be significantly less powerful than the Nvidia Tegra-powered Ouya. Still, the team has posted a video of a prototype version of the console running a complex 3D third-person shooter like Shadowgun quite capably.

GameStick is the creation of PlayJam, a software developer previously focused on bringing free-to-play games to SmartTV platforms. After designing the console for about a year already, PlayJam is seeking $100,000 in crowdfunding to get the final system out to customers by an April 2013 target. As of this writing, they've raised just under $25,000 of that goal from about 300 backers in less than a day.

Roku is putting out new sticks that are powered by HDMI, but their website says something about only working with Roku-capable HDMI slots. So I thought it was something special they had worked out with TV manufacturers. Does this device use that same technology as the Roku Stick or does it work with any HDMI port?

While I backed Ouya, this one does not hold any interest at all for me. It's just TOO limited. I also doubt the XBMC capabilities. Nope, this is just one step too far in simplicity. Feels more like those 100 games in one hand-consoles you can get in any store for $8.

I am very dubious about this one. It's designed right out of the gate to be underpowered and is trying to make the transition between touchscreen and controller without really thinking too much about what that means. You're going to have something where you can play thousands of games, but most of them won't work quite right and the developers won't care about your problem because you're using some oddball piece of hardware that nobody else gives a damn about. It could be really frustrating to play games most of the way through, then hit a brick wall because one particular section requires a touchscreen gesture that you simply can't provide.

If I got one somehow, I think my first response would be to figure out if it can be hacked to hook into a media center or something. $80 wouldn't be too terrible for something that can probably handle most video formats out there. The fact that it's cloud based means it has to have semi-decent networking already.

Meh. I've got one of these. It's cheaper, and way more powerful as well -- 1080p via WiFi without breaking a sweat. Also great for NES/SNES/PSX/etc. emus with a bluetooth controller. Sure, you can't power it with the HDMI port, but I'm not caring.

Roku is putting out new sticks that are powered by HDMI, but their website says something about only working with Roku-capable HDMI slots. So I thought it was something special they had worked out with TV manufacturers. Does this device use that same technology as the Roku Stick or does it work with any HDMI port?

Roku are probably just plating it safe by blessing a subset of all HDMI ports.

Roku is putting out new sticks that are powered by HDMI, but their website says something about only working with Roku-capable HDMI slots. So I thought it was something special they had worked out with TV manufacturers. Does this device use that same technology as the Roku Stick or does it work with any HDMI port?

I would be entirely unsurprised if TV manufacturers were lazy about following the HDMI spec and several sets simply aren't capable of delivering enough power to run a Roku over the HDMI port. Or worse, they can but it burns out the HDMI chip on the board because they never thought anybody would actually use that feature and didn't spec large enough power leads.

Roku is putting out new sticks that are powered by HDMI, but their website says something about only working with Roku-capable HDMI slots. So I thought it was something special they had worked out with TV manufacturers. Does this device use that same technology as the Roku Stick or does it work with any HDMI port?

From the Kickstarter Page:

1) MHL - GameStick will work on all MHL compliant TVs where it will draw power directly from the HDMI slot.2) For older, non-MHL Compliant TVs we will supply a USB connector cable to draw power from the USB port.3) For older TV's which do not support either MHL or power through the USB, there will also be a power adapter.

Functionality aside, I do have to give them props on a rather gorgeous design concept. I can't see myself really needing one, but it definitely grabbed my attention from the photo. Best of luck to them, though I kind of think Roku is hitting the market well already for this niche. (As I don't really consider the gaming features to be the highlight here.)

Roku is putting out new sticks that are powered by HDMI, but their website says something about only working with Roku-capable HDMI slots. So I thought it was something special they had worked out with TV manufacturers. Does this device use that same technology as the Roku Stick or does it work with any HDMI port?

From the Kickstarter Page:

1) MHL - GameStick will work on all MHL compliant TVs where it will draw power directly from the HDMI slot.2) For older, non-MHL Compliant TVs we will supply a USB connector cable to draw power from the USB port.3) For older TV's which do not support either MHL or power through the USB, there will also be a power adapter.

The article should really reference MHL. Although it is an extension to HDMI, it is a different standard and far from pervasive in the market. It's not even very common in new TVs yet.

What's with the race to the bottom in Android hardware for gaming? I just don't understand the point of these projects. It's interesting yes, but you have to sell these things to someone and people interested in the tech side of things are going to have a PS360 or PC and even if they buy it for novelty or whatever will they keep making software purchases to keep the system going? It seems the people that would buy these things would be the same people buying the Atari Retro Consoles or 500-in-1 jobs from Walgreens and I'm just not sure that market of consumers is going to be big enough to sustain any, let alone a couple, of Android "consoles".

I'd say Gamestick is using too old-gen chipset (Amlogic dualcore A9@1.5GHz+Mali 400@400Ghz) which is fine for phone resolutions but way too low for bigscreen tv resolutions. Yes it can run games but not very demanding one graphics-wise. OUYA at least uses Tegra3 chipset which gives decent OpenGL performance. Its new Mali600 serie to match Tegra3 gfx performance.

The Amlogic 8726-MX isn't a bad SoC by all accounts - dual-core ARM Cortex A9 at 1.5GHz, dual-core 300MHz ARM Mali400 ... but it's not a quad-core A9 like the Tegra 3, nor is it a quad-core Mali400 like the RK3066 as used in the iMito MX1 linked above.

I'm curious as to how people feel about these Android based console systems. I have always been of the opinion that consoles should be about as powerful as leading edge personal computers when they (the consoles) first debut. Personally, I'm not really interested in buying a device that can only do what my phone can do with its radio turned off. I'd be much more interested in some sort of docking station that lets me use my phone as a console.

I'm really interested to see how this and the Ouya compare when they actually come out. Not sure how it will play out between them: $20 less and "pocketable" vs more powerful hardware & more traditional-appearing system.

But please, please let the games for both (and any upcoming Android "consoles") be compatible. That would fit with both of their "breaking down the walls" talk and there's no reason a game can't work on both aside from cpu/gpu performance.

My thoughts seem to run parallel to everyone elses, especially in the concerns department:

1: Horsepower: I'm guessing it's underpowered in comparison to the Snapdragons and the Tegras to keep it on the cheap side, but what good is it going to do if it can't play current TOL games? A game system that you intend to keep around should be able to withstand a few generations of TOL software before you notice any slowness or cutbacks.2: Hardware/Software compatability issues: While I'm certain most software designed for Android-based devices can run on any hardware matching the specs of the system, being able to play a lot of those games will be different. While the controller-based configuration will work for some of the simpler games, there's a lot to be desired, especially since I see no mention of it turning your TV into a touchscreen or motion-based device.3: Player limitations: While I can see the potential of such a system being a good 8/16/32 bit "old school" gaming device, and I understand the nature of most of the available Android-based software wouldn't need it, there'd be a large amount of games that could potentially support two players that, thanks to how this is designed, would not be possible to play.4: Market Overload:: I'm almost certain the pricetag they're seeking is to compete with the current gaming consoles as well as the number of "gaming/multimedia devices" currently out or coming out, including the latest crops of players from Roku and the Ouya device. The biggest problem I see, though, is how it's different from its competition: Almost anything these devices can do can be done with a PC or latest-gen console, and in a lot of cases, better than on these devices. Even if you eliminate those and your "Roku/Apple TV" boxes and devices that are mainly media streamers but that are adding games to their systems, and all of the "cheap" games you can buy in the store (like the ones shaped like a Genesis controller that play 6+games) - even if all that is left is Android-based systems - the only difference I am seeing is price and compatibility in what could easily become an over-saturated market.

if it was the only device, I'd consider taking a look, but even then I doubt I'd be more interested in it. Hopefully they address these concerns before they do get up to a public release.

There are $45 android 4.1 sticks with very similar specs (no controller) that I can buy off the market today. Then I can buy up any of a plethora of $30 android bluetooth controllers and I essentially have the same setup today for the same price. This seems like a bad deal, on top of all the other issues people here have already addressed.

OUYA at least has the plan to try to get developers port their games and have an attempt at a curated store. Without that, I'll HDMI my phone with better specs than this thing and go buy a top of the line $50 bluetooth controller. I'd end up with better results than this project. These smaller systems aren't going to have an awesome robust online community (lack of resources), so couch co-op being sacrificed is a big deal.

Critical failures: No Couch Coop, No Store, Weaker Internals. $20 cheaper is not enough to sacrifice these things from the OUYA approach.

I'm not particularly interested in their platform, but that controller intrigues me. Too many PC controllers have crappy D-pads (I'm thinking of the 360 one as well as the floating D-pads used by Logitech and the old Saitek controllers).

I thought Nintendo held some sort of patent related to cross-shaped D-pads? I've only seen them on USB clones of Nintendo controllers and none of the major PC or console gamepads have used a similar D-pad as far as I can recall, with the Playstation one being closest.

Hrm. TVs don't provide all that much power for HDMI - 100mA or less because they don't really need to.

The main reason you have it is for EDID and HDCP - usually the HDMI source (A/V receiver, blu-ray player,etc) supplies a small amount of power over HDMI to do EDID (just enough to power up an I2C EEPROM). The sink on HDMI also provide some power to query the source's EDID (for HDCP purposes) but like I said, it's only for powering a small I2C chip, at best. Maybe a tiny bit more to power the HDMI transceiver to kick it into allow I2C access (but they're separate lines on the HDMI cable) or possibly a little bit for CEC.

Either way, they either figured out how to do it over 500mW, or a lot of burned out TVs in their future. Or maybe they're counting on most TVs having a 5V rail and connecting it straight up to that, like how most PCs can provide >500mA out of USB, but some are stuck at 500mA or less (spec calls for 100mA guaranteed) causing all sorts of issues when plugging in devices that violate the spec (like bus powered hard drives).

Oh, goodie. Another KickStarter reselling commodity Android sticks as if they are a revolution. The last couple ended in tears, recriminations and lawsuits. After 6 months all people got were standard models from China they could have bought for less at any time.

Kyle Orland / Kyle is the Senior Gaming Editor at Ars Technica, specializing in video game hardware and software. He has journalism and computer science degrees from University of Maryland. He is based in Pittsburgh, PA.